Years ago I wrote a widely circulated
article for coaches titled “How To Ruin Your Goalie In 10 Easy
Lessons.” This was a tongue-in-cheek article meant to give coaches
food for thought about their influence on their goalies. In fairness
to coaches, goalies have a responsibility to help themselves get
better. It’s not always about what your coach does or doesn’t do for
you, but how you deal with what’s going on around you. If you are
inquisitive, open to new ideas and have a strong work ethic, you
will keep progressing throughout your career. By the same token, if
you have a negative attitude, cannot take constructive criticism and
you’re lazy….well, you do the math……

#1: Negative
Crease Presence

If you look bored, lazy or
indifferent guess what….everyone will assume the worst about you!
Your teammates won’t trust that you have their back and opponents
will think you are an easy mark. Just like life, perception is
reality. What presence do you give off?

#2: Wear Your
Frustration on Your Sleeve

Okay, you’re having a bad
practice or game so what? If you’re having a meltdown and carrying
on just because some things aren’t going your way, what message does
that send to your teammates and opponents? You may be furious about
the goal you just gave up, but you can’t let on. It’s like the old
deodorant commercial that said “Never let them see you sweat!” Stay
calm, try to look rationally as to why you aren’t playing well or
why the puck went in and then, to quote Jimmy Buffett, “Breathe In,
Breathe Out, Move On!”

#3 The Word
“Battle” Is Not In Your Vocabulary

Boston Bruins goalie Tim
Thomas won the Vezina Trophy largely due to the fact that he never
quits on a play. Do you truly battle until the puck actually goes in
the net or do you assume you have no chance and quit on plays? If
you don’t give 100% when you practice or play, why bother? Baseball
Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken, set a record for most consecutive games
played. He taught people that life is all about showing up and being
ready to work.

#4: You Are a Puck Receptacle, Not A
Goalie

If you are not a student of the game and
constantly trying to learn new options for stopping the puck, then
you are merely a “puck receptacle”. What do I mean by that? Well, if
all you do is zone out and wait for the obvious clue that a shot is
coming, then you are using only a small portion of your talent.
Since the time you spend actually making saves in a game is less
than a minute, you must learn to use the rest of the time wisely in
your movement, positioning, stickwork and communication.

#5: Your Real
Estate Giveaways Qualify As a Charitable Deduction

The vast majority of
goalies I coach have no idea how much quality real estate they give
away to the opposing shooters. They back in too early, retreat from
rebounds and glide back into the crease long before the shooter is
anywhere near them. What happens when you give away real estate? You
give shooters the advantage of time and space. Get comfortable with
closer gaps because when you do, you have less distance to cover to
make saves, you look quicker since you don’t have to move as far and
you force the shooter into mistakes since they don’t have room to
make easy choices.

#6: You Call It Quits After One Save

Okay, that was an amazing
save you just made. The world will not stop spinning, the President
will not invite you to the White House and your favorite supermodel
will not be asking you for a date. Even if you made an amazing first
save, you still may have to make some more after that. If all of
your energy was out of control making the first stop, you won’t be
able to get to the rebounds. If you are a top quality goalie, you
should be able to flow from one save to the next by keeping your
body under control. If your head, hands and back shoulder are always
squarely moving into saves, you will have the ability to make
multiple stops on the play. If you’re one and done, you won’t be
effective at higher levels of play.

#7: Your Stick Is
Just an Advertisement for Lumber Companies

Ooh, that’s a beautiful
piece of composite wood in your hand….pretty colors, cool logo. Just
wondering, but do you use it for more than an advertising statement?
Has it crossed your mind that you might be able to pass the puck,
pokecheck deking players, corral loose pucks for face-offs or clear
away rebounds with it? Very few goalies really have high level
stickwork and have no understanding on how having an active stick
will maximize all the rest of their skills. Find a stick that is not
just cool, but actually feels like an extension of your arms so you
can use it well. The stick is not just a crutch to lean on between
plays!

#8: Practice Is a 4 Letter Word

Yeah, I know the Bruins
coaching staff is hiding out at your mite, high school or adult
league rinks just waiting to offer you a million dollar contract.
While you are waiting (and waiting and waiting) for them to send you
the contract, you might try to learn some new things. I don’t care
if you’re 6 years old or 60. If you’re strapping on the pads, there
is something new to learn. You can always tweak your game, learn new
options to counteract the shooters and make yourself unpredictable.
If do the same thing game in and game out and you never expand your
horizons, you will never get better…period!

#9: You’re Afraid
of Failure

Failure is a wonderful thing…embrace it….love
it! If you screw up and learn from it, guess what? You’ll get
better!! You’ll recognize what to do or not to do because failure at
anything in life gives experience. If you’re afraid to look bad,
afraid to try new things, afraid to compete…..you’re playing the
wrong position! Listen to constructive criticism. You don’t have to
take the advice, but you can learn by other people’s opinions.
Repeating the same mistakes over and over means you’re not learning!

#10: You’re a
One-Trick Pony

Okay, you’ve got a great
butterfly. That’s nice. What else can you do? If you rely on one
move to carry your career, you’re in trouble. Be unpredictable. Know
how to position yourself so shooters mess up. Be good with your
stick. Develop an amazing glove hand. Learn how to effectively
communicate with your teammates. All these things make for a
multi-faceted style of goaltending.